Chains of Perdition
by CptHEZmonster
Summary: Adam is pulled from Hell by a mysterious young woman who has a plan to land him back in Heaven.
1. Chapter 1

**So I wrote this in about forty minutes, not gonna lie. Adam just deserves to get pulled outta Hell, and since he's been down there so long, let's kick it up a notch and let him be saved by a pretty lady! Depending on R&R I may write more, kthxbai!**

His breath was caught in his throat. He felt trapped, boxed in, helpless. It was a familiar feeling, one that he had experienced once before. It was something he would never forget. Something cold took hold of his wrist. He tried to move, tried to fight whatever it was but his mind and body seemed to be operating separately. There was a rush of air, something that felt free about him, and once more he was encased in blackness; an all too comfortable blackness.

The air filling his chest burned his lungs. Blue eyes shooting open he gasped, his breaths were gravelly and strained as he took them in for the first time in all too long. Heart pounding in his chest, eyes wide like an animal getting chased by a predator he sat up quickly, looking about the place he was in. It appeared to be nothing more than a simple room; single bed, night stand, TV, bathroom. Was he in a motel room? As he took in the appearance of the place he was in he saw movement out of his peripheral vision, making his eyes snap over to a chair in the corner. There sat a young woman, cross legged and eyes fixed on him.

She stared at him a moment, expression blank, before something of a smile finally came to her fair features. "Mornin' sunshine." She greeted, standing up and stretching long, pale legs. She was wearing all black shorts and a tank top, no shoes, and a bracelet on her left hand. He eyed her, brow furrowing as she walked over to him and leaned down, a curtain of long, straight, ashen-auburn hair brushing over her shoulder. She reached for him, his jaw clenched, and he pulled away, tempted to swat at her hand. "Take it easy…you've got big ole clumps of dirt in your bangs." Once more she reached forward, this time scraping out said dirt from matted light brown locks, making him duck his head to prevent them from getting any in his eyes – not that he wasn't caked in it already.

As she stepped away, popping her knuckles he stared at her back, looking her up and down a moment before looking down at himself, covered in dirt from head to toe. Standing up he didn't bother brushing any of it off, having it done once before, and instead gave a hard stare at the young woman a few feet away. "Are you an angel?" He asked bluntly, no room for jokes in his tone. She turned, looking like he just told bad joke, and chuckled, "No." He expected her to say more, but she didn't; she just turned back around and went to sit on the end of the bed. Slightly frustrated he took a few steps forward, briefly holding his arms out to the side and giving her a questioning tilt of the head. "A demon?" Her response to that one was another chuckle, albeit a bit louder, before responding once more with a blunt, "No."

With a frustrated, deliberate movement he swiped a hand over his brow. "Then what the hell are you?" His voiced was raised, though not quite yelling. She raised a brow at him, looking over his face a few seconds before standing up. Placing a hand on his shoulder she looked up at him, tilting her head slightly to the side in an almost cocky gesture. "I'm the one who saved your ass from the Pit." She paused for about the span of two seconds, allowing a short stare down before patting his cheek and giving a crooked smile. "Welcome back, Adam."


	2. Shepard

**Alright so I saw that this story had a fair amount of views in just its first day up, and while there were only four reviews...honestly I was just giddy to even have reviews haha. So my muse flared up and I busted out another chapter for y'all! so special thanks to mellimon, boldlikeblack, caitewarren, and Pisces00 for submitting the first four reviews on CoP! I hope I did Adam justice in this chapter...**

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><p>Adam leaned heaving on the sink, wiping the last bit of water from his face. Small bits of dirt and mud from his previous shower shown in droplets on the small teal tile floor of the motel bathroom and sink. As he tossed the towel aside he looked up into his reflection, cool blue eyes locking on to one another. How long had it been? How long was he trapped in the pit? The girl in the other room mentioned it was quite a while, but like everything else about her she was very unspecific. Among other things, she was irritating him. There was something in his face, staring back in the mirror right there, that felt empty. He just felt like something was missing. With a heavy sigh he dropped his head, pulling his gaze away from the mirror and cleared his throat. Turning about and grabbing a clean shirt off the towel rack (apparently she was well prepared and had clean clothes for him) he pulled it over his head, knocking just a few more drops of water from his wet hair.<p>

The dark chestnut haired girl lay strewn over the bed, looking oddly in place considering the shorts and tank top she wore appeared to be pajama attire. The television was on, but she wasn't watching it. In fact, this young lady seemed much more interested in the remote. Her eyes, blue like Adam's though teal in the light, scanned over the remote as she turned it about between her fingers. For a moment, she furrowed her brow as if the thing confused her. However, before she could investigate further she heard the doorknob of the bathroom turn. Her head perked up and she sat up quickly, coming to attention as Adam stepped out of the bathroom, now clad in clean jeans and a dim navy blue T-shirt. The girl smiled, seeming satisfied. "Man, I'm good! Guessed your size just right and everything." There was almost a cocky tone in her voice, but Adam merely side-glanced at her before walking to the other side of the room to retrieve a jacket that was hanging near the door.

As Adam lifted the jacket from its hanging spot he lowered it in his hands, staring at it as if there was some kind of hidden message. He wore a jacket similar to this when he was actually alive. He could still remember those things sinking their teeth into his flesh, hearing his mother scream. Brows twisting into an expression of pain he quickly closed his eyes, turning about and going to sit heavily on the bed. Her eyes followed him as he moved, watching in as he sat at the opposite end of the bed from which she was currently perched. For a moment she just stared at him, as if trying to process what to do, but her face quickly came to that of someone who clearly was capable of compassion. Truly, she did feel sorry for him, but even she was aware he wouldn't want any pity. Creeping closer on hands and knees she came to sit on her heels near him, leaning her head down a bit in an attempt to give him a look over. He turned his head away.

With a small sigh she rubbed the back of her head, slouching her shoulders a bit. "I know you've been through a lot, Adam. More than any young man should ever have to go through," she paused a moment as he gave a small scoff, "but be thankful I've suppressed the memories of Hell." He hesitated a second before turning his head to look at her, his expression asking the questions for him. The girl turned her head about a second before looking back at him, dark hair moving lightly over her shoulders. "You were down there for a year. Do you know how long that is in Hell Time?" Her brows knitted together as she locked her gaze on to him, though he remained silent. She stood up and paused a moment before turning to look at him, fingers lacing together and hovering just over her stomach. "One hundred and twenty years." Adam looked up to her as if she had just told him that someone he knew had died. _One hundred and twenty years? _Trying to think about it made a knot form in his stomach.

There were a few moments of silence between them as she stood there and watched him, hunched over with his head rested heavily in his palms. Suddenly, though, he stood and paced about the room. Sam and Dean came back for him once to defend him against Zachariah. Did they even try to get him out of Hell? Weren't they worried about him? Did they even think about him? After a moment of pacing back and forth he finally turned around to face the girl. And what the hell was she? She didn't tell him anything at all. "So, why did you pull me out, huh? If you're not a demon and you're not an angel then what do you need me for? I don't know if you've heard but I've already been used and played like a meat sack!" There were just some things he would never forget, and that was sure as hell one of them. Damn angels with their wings and halos, tricking people into thinking they were some nice, light beings of goodness that only wanted to help. The girl's brow furrowed a moment and she took a step towards him, but the look on his face made her stop and stay where she stood. "All right look," she began, placing her hands on her hips, "I know you belong in Heaven, you know you belong in Heaven, so that's what I'm here for. Angels yanked you out of the sky to do their dirty work, and for what? So you could cook in the pit with Mikey and Lucy?" Adam gave her pause, staring at her as she carried on. So even she knew the whole situation with becoming Michael's vessel and the fight with Lucifer (albeit a bit of a failed fight but, none-the-less).

Finally she walked towards him, staring up at him straight in the eye. "I pulled you out because no one else did, and no one else would. You are one of at least a million souls I've seen sent there that deserve better – I _had _to get you out." Okay, so here was this strange girl who looked no older than him, who's voice was filled with honesty and a compassion he couldn't even begin to comprehend that saved him from Hell, and through all of a year his so called brothers couldn't get him? After a few seconds his eyes darted over her, unsure of how exactly to respond. He'd been expecting to just be used like a puppet as he had been before, but after all of that she was just here to help him. Adam wasn't sure whether to feel like an ass or still be justified because he didn't know a damn thing about her. "Alright," his voice was a bit low and hesitant, "but what exactly am I supposed to call you? How am I supposed to even _trust_ you if you won't tell me what you are or what your name is?" The girl leaned back on her heels, clapping her hands once in front of her in a second of thought. "I know, I'm well aware of the issue of trust, and I know you of all people shouldn't trust me right away; I will earn your trust. As for names…" She paused, moving back to the bed and sitting herself on the end, crossing her legs and leaning her chin on her fist. "Why don't you just make up a nickname for me?" Her voice and face were that of an amused child.

Adam sighed and ran a hand over his now slightly damp hair. Was she serious? He could see this was just going now where. "Crazy bitch." He mumbled, some sarcasm hidden in his tone though it was mostly irritation. Instead of any normal reaction she actually chuckled, snorted really and bowed her head. "Oh, that's so accurate." She mumbled through her chuckles before sweeping a hand over her long hair to brush it from her face and look back at him. "Come on though, really. Any nickname will do! Hell, come up with any boring old girl's name off the top of your head." When girl's name was mentioned he suddenly thought of one of the prettiest girls from his high school. She was pretty popular and Adam himself only ever talked to her a few times, mainly in some school club. Her name was something like Amy. Or was it Anna? Well whatever her first name, he knew her last name was Shepard. "Shepard?" He suggested, shrugging his shoulders slightly. The girl simply grinned and straightened up, nodding her head. "Sounds fine to me!" Okay, so clearly she knew nothing of regular names otherwise she would have chosen a less strange nickname. Adam, however, wasn't going to argue with this really weird young woman because he didn't know what she could do, what she was, if she had a temper and also because she pulled him out of Hell and some part of him was coming to realize he was thankful. "Now, before we do anything else…" She stood and went to the door, pointing at it and looking at him, something of a begging look in his eyes. "I haven't eaten in millennia; you haven't eaten in one hundred and twenty years. Food, please?" If he wasn't in the current situation he was in with her, he might have called that tone she asked with adorable. However, there was another issue to concern them with at the moment. "I don't suppose you have any money hiding on you? Or maybe a way to get to any diner, restaurant, fast food joint…" he waved his hand wearily in the air as if to put emphasis on the list of places to eat. She smiled and pulled open the door of the motel, bowing in the entrance and waving one arm behind herself. "Your chariot awaits." With that she turned on her heels and jogged out. Was she serious? Deciding it best not to linger he shrugged, making his way out and closing the door behind him.

There she was, leaning on an old beat up truck looking rather proud of herself. "Okay, so I have no idea how these things work or whatever, but I can assure you the man that owns this isn't going to be waking up anytime soon." Adam raised a questioning brow at her. "I saw him stumble on up this morning – drunk as drunk can get!" With a short pause she tilted her head towards the motel. "And I may have jammed his door while you were in the shower…just in case!" She held her hands up as if she were going to be shot or something. Adam stood at the curb, staring at the rust bucket and then to her, unsure of stealing it. However, the growl in his stomach and the reminder that he just got pulled out of freaking Hell told him to just go with it. "Alright, lets find some food." He said, giving a small shrug and moving to the driver's side. Shepard leaned over the hood of the truck and watched him open his door and climb in, then she herself moved to the other side and opened up the passenger side and shambled on in. After looking through the truck a few moments he finally found the keys dropped near the gas and break pedals, picking them up and jingling them slightly. "We're in luck," with that he started the truck; its engine roaring to life (literally, it sounded like a roar recorded off the Animal Chanel or something.)


	3. Burgers, TShirts, and Flames Oh My!

**My last computer died so I wound up having to rewrite chapter three, otherwise it would have been up earlier. But I think this version still turned out well, if not better than the first! Tell yo kids, tell yo wife, and tell yo husband about this story, 'cause errbody loves Adam up in hurr! Also, just for a future note - please don't write in reviews trying to guess what Shepard is. I'll reveal that in good time, my pretties! Yeah, I think that's about it...as always, R&R! the more reviews I get the faster I type! Oh! And the chapters from here on out should be fairly long, since I envision each chapter in my mind basically like an episode - ya know, if Chains of Perdition were a show ^_^ **

**without further ado, to the story! **

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><p>In the short amount of time it took for them to drive to an open burger place Adam had learned a few things about Shepard. For one, it seemed like riding in the truck put her to sleep in about four minutes. She seemed so alert and awake for the first of the ride, but he happened a glance over after a couple moments of silence only to see the girl fast asleep against the door of the truck. Second - even though Adam was starving and ate two burgers plus fries and drink himself (seeing as there was also a wallet in the truck), Shepard took devouring food to a whole new level. She pointed to almost everything with meat on it, although Adam only ordered half, and not only did she eat all of it without so much as a hiccup, but now she was polishing off whatever Adam did not finish. The girl that saved him from The Pit, turned out to also be a bottomless pit. After staring out the window and watching her eat in silence for several long moments he finally leaned forward, scooting empty trays out of his way as he rested his elbows on the tabletop.<p>

Shepard, noting the movement, immediately gave Adam her full attention. For a brief moment he just stared at her. "What am I supposed to do?" He finally asked, brows coming down in utter confusion and loss. Shepard's expression went from focused on him to softening. Setting the drink in her hand aside, she leaned forward on the table in a similar fashion. "I've erased as much of your memories of Hell as I can," she started, "but just because you don't remember it doesn't mean it didn't happen." Feeling slightly annoyed with the way she seemed to dance her way around actual answers he turned his head to glare out of the window. "You think I'm an idiot? I know it happened-" Shepard leaned to the side, grabbing his attention with her gaze. "I know, I know, but listen." She held her hands up from the table a moment, trying to keep him quiet so she could explain. Reluctantly, he returned his attention back to her, and once she had it she leaned back in her chair where she was before.

"You were in Hell for a long time, and during that time it's possible that you may have lost bits of your humanity. Even though we both know you belong in Heaven, and there's probably other beings out there that know it too, you can't go to Heaven until we're sure that you're...whole." She explained to the best of her ability, though Adam was still a bit lost. He dropped his head a few inches, staring intently at the table-top as his hand came up to rub at his hairline. "So, you're telling me I can't go to Heaven yet?" He asked begrudgingly. Shepard adverted her gaze to the side, biting the corner of her lip a little and nodded. "We kind of have to rinse the Hell out of you, if that makes sense. Basically to make sure you're still good ol' Adam so you can go up to those Golden Gates." Shepard responded, pointing to the ceiling with one hand. Adam looked up to her, the things she was explaining starting to make sense to him a little bit as he thought about it. With a sigh he decided it would be best to go with it, at least for now. He was still not ready to succumb to any plan that was thrown his way after being used and tossed aside in his short lifetime.

Leaning back in his chair he shrugged in her direction, holding his hands out to the side before clapping them back in his lap. "Okay. How do we do that?" Shepard tilted her head to the side, "Good 'll just go around helping people with whatever, I mean...that's what a good person does, so it should prove that you're not corrupted and stuff." Adam gave her a quizzical look because of the blunt and seemingly care free way she seemed to be talking about all of this. This was his soul they were talking about, after all. "And how can we be sure that I'm not dirty?" Adam asked, taking on a mocking tone to which Shepard seemed to respond with a short lowering of the head. "I can see your soul, Adam. I know it's there and I know it's still good - hurt, abused, betrayed, and angry, but good. We just have to regain the purity that was lost in Hell. Look," Shepard leaned forward more, locking her gaze with Adam's, "I know this plan sounds like there are holes in it, and I'm sure we'll hit some bumps in the road and it will be difficult, but I'll be there the whole time. I'm going to get you back in Heaven. You're going to see your mom again." At her last few words something in his gaze changed, though she didn't' waver. Maybe he could actually believe her.

After a moment Shepard slowly leaned back, reaching for her drink again. "However, I'd be lying if I said this was all for you." Ah, and there it was, the catch. Shepard watched as Adam turned to look out the window, clearly expecting something that was going to change this whole deal after what he went through with the angels. None-the-less, she carried on. "While we help people, I'll be dropping little trinkets here and there for them to keep or I'll just make sure I leave an impression. That way they will, inevitably, think of me every now and again. Doesn't matter what they think, so long as they think of me." Adam looked back to her, "And why is that?" Shepard, who took the interruption as a chance to take a few long gulps of her drink, waited a moment to respond. "You have to understand I haven't been around in a really long time. If people start thinking of me I get stronger, and the stronger I get the easier it is for me to help you and the sooner you can go to Heaven...huh, guess it is kinda for you now, isn't it?" Shepard responded with a mocking little tone, clearly to shed light on the belief he lost in her a few seconds ago. With a very slight roll of the eyes he looked away. "Well, whatever you are I guess you're the only one that's helping me. I'm not saying I trust you, Hell I may not trust you for a while, but I'm going to give this whole plan a chance."

Shepard gave him a satisfied smile, bringing the straw of her drink back to her lips and taking another hearty swig. Adam waited for her to eat and drink more food before he finally stood, picking up the empty trays. "We should get going. There's probably going to be cops looking for that truck around here soon." Adam said in response to Shepard's confused look. Glancing out the window towards the truck they took she nodded in agreement before standing and going to the trashcan to rid of the empty trays and wrappers. As they headed out the door he couldn't help but note how ridiculous and out of place she looked wearing her black PJs, and scuffing her feet along the pavement because of the large boots she had to wear to even go in the building. One would be surprised with the amount of things a man would leave in his truck, especially while drunk.

Adam turned his head sharply in his sleep. Nightmares had been plaguing him the past few nights, and almost each time Shepard would wake him from his slumber. It was always the same thing. Flashes of pain, fire, blood, loss, and feeling himself falling. He could never stop himself from falling, no matter how hard he tried. Instead of waking from Shepard shaking his shoulders or saying his name, this time he woke himself, jolting from the bad dream. Eyes wide open now a cold layer of sweat covered his forehead and neck. Swallowing hard as reality of yet another motel room set in he finally sat up, the blankets falling from him as he rubbed his hand heavily over his forehead. For a moment he drew his hand back in slight surprise from the sweat, though after a moment was really no surprise at all. In fact the real surprise was that Shepard wasn't even in the room. Usually she was the one to wake him up. A few times since they started travelling he woke to find her not in her own bed, but instead lying at the bottom of his, on one occasion using his feet as a pillow. It's not like he minded since he didn't really notice, but for the time being it was a little bit of an invasion of personal space. Still, he didn't say anything about it since she did pull him out of Hell, after all.

Swinging his feet over the edge of the bed he stretched away the remainder of sleep, running his hands over his rumpled and slightly damp shirt to smooth it before standing up. A quick glance around the room and he saw the bathroom door was closed with the light on. Making his way over and leaning on the wall near the door he knocked a few times, "Shepard?" He heard her move about a moment. "I hate clothes!" She responded through the door in a whining voice. "You're going to have to deal with it, you can't keep running around in those little pajamas." Adam responded through the door, feeling only slightly amused by how annoying she found clothes. Besides, it was bad enough she liked to be barefoot all the time, the booty shorts were just too much to handle. He couldn't be doing much good when other women were looking at her like she was a skank, and guys were eyeing her like a piece of meat. Hearing more commotion from the bathroom, some mumbling he couldn't understand and a thud he looked back to the door, leaning in just a bit closer as his brows furrowed in curiosity. "You all right in there?" He got no response, but instead Shepard swung the door open seconds later. She looked rather annoyed, her hair (which now hung in thick, loose curls instead of being straight) was messy and the T-shirt she had put on was crooked and...backwards. Never had he thought that putting on a T-shirt and jeans would look so difficult. What was she going to do when he made her wear shoes?

Adam couldn't help the amused look on his face, which made Shepard tilt her head and walk right past him. Straight cut bangs hanging in her face she plopped down on the bed, fiddling with the light green shirt more. "You have to turn it around. For future reference this," Adam reached down and flipped the collar inside out to show the tag, "Goes in the back." As Shepard pulled her arms into the shirt and turned it about Adam made his way to the other side of the bed, picking up his folded clothes. Stopping in the doorway of the bathroom he looked back at her, shirt now in place as she smoothed down her hair. "And you're going to have to start wearing shoes when we go out places." Shepard gave him a bewildered look, but he closed the door before she could verbally protest.

Door closed now she heard the shower water in the bathroom get turned on. She glared at the door for a few moments but finally just lay back on the bed, her legs just hanging over the edge. "I miss the times when I could just go around naked." The brunette mumbled at the ceiling. After a few moments she finally sat up, staring at the bathroom door, the shower still going. Whenever Adam left her alone, whether it be to shower, get food, or anything else she always wound up either falling asleep, sitting there and staring at the door, or doing something mundane to keep her attention. A few seconds of debate passed in her head and she finally crawled over the bed to pick up the small radio on the night stand, crossing her legs and holding it in her lap. She'd seen Adam mess with it a few times, now how did he turn the damn thing on? Shepard fiddled with the thing a few moments before music finally started playing. Proud of herself she sat up straight, grinning and wiggling about a few seconds before turning the dial around. When she did this the music changed, and simply changing the music around the channels entertained her for a good forty or so seconds.

Shutting off the water Adam stepped out of the shower. Grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist he wiped the fog from the mirror with his hand. Staring at his reflection he ran a hand over his bare torso. Sometimes he wondered why he never had any scars from getting eaten alive, but at the same time he figured that had something to do with those asshole Angels. His eyes drifted up to stare at his face. Even he could see the similarities between himself, Sam, and Dean. For a second the curiosity of where they were and what they were doing at that moment flickered over his mind. Adam's mind went back to Shepard, hearing the music playing through the door, though muffled and quiet. The past couple days he did a few good things, but helping an old woman with groceries or doing yard work for a family, no matter how many times he did it, didn't exactly feel like it was going to get him back in Heaven. Clearing his throat slightly he dropped his gaze to the sink. No, he wasn't going to do this right now. He was not going to have a moment of clarity or whatever in the bathroom of a motel. He felt like he did that almost every time he came into one of these damn things and saw his own reflection. With a small nod of his head in silent agreement to himself to not do it anymore he began to dry off and get dressed.

Once he came out of the bathroom he gave pause to Shepard, who was sitting in the middle of the bed with the small radio pressed to the side of her face as if she were receiving a life or death message. Walking around the bed to stand in front of her he gave her a questioning look, her eyes only moving up to look at him as she kept the radio, that was playing a song unfamiliar to Adam, pressed to her face. "It's so beautiful!" She explained in a false, dramatic voice in response to what sounded like a male singing opera about mountains and seas. "Okay, I think that's enough for you." Adam said, reaching forward and briefly having a small tug of war over the radio before shutting it off and tossing it to the head of the bed. Pulling on his jacket Adam headed towards the door. "The day just started, let's go be good guys." He sighed, pulling open the door and exiting, Shepard right behind him to close it. As they made their way to the truck, which Adam had started to comfortably call his truck, he paused at the door and looked down to Shepard's bare feet. Catching his eye she also looked down at her feet, then up at him with a visibly upset expression. "Oh, no I don't-" Adam turned his head slightly to the side, raising his brows at her and making her stop. "It's the human thing to do, and you need to blend in." Getting in the truck Adam watched as Shepard visibly sighed, her head rolling back on her shoulders before she got in the truck, grumbling as she pulled the boots on her feet. If there was one thing that he was sure about it was that she was going to fall asleep within five minutes of driving, and when she woke up she would no longer be upset. Only problem for Adam was that he got annoyed with driving around for hours looking for "good deeds" that needed doing.

"Shepard. Shepard, wake up." Adam poked at the side of his companion. Shepard slowly sat up from her slumber, stretching her arms forward and arching her back. "What is it?" She asked through a yawn. Adam gestured to the front of the truck where the entire road was filled with cars. "Traffic. I think there's construction ahead." Shepard leaned forward slightly to look out the window. Her eyes narrowed a bit and it seemed like she even sniffed the air. After a second she suddenly straightened and began to undo her seat-belt. "What're you-" Adam began, but Shepard already had opened her door. "It's an accident, let's go!" Without another word she took off forward. "Shit." Adam mumbled before undoing his own seat belt, getting out, and taking off after Shepard. As he got further down the road he started to have to dodge more and more people before he was actually pushing his way through a crowd. Being taller than some people he glanced around, looking over their heads and occasionally going up on his tip toes, trying to find that mess of dark hair. After long seconds of searching to no avail he cupped his hands around his mouth, trying to get his voice over the noises of the people and traffic. "Shepard!" He kept looking around, trying to see if maybe she'd wave an arm in the air. Nothing. "Shepard!" Feeling anxious now he began to push through the crowd again, making his way to the center of attention. When he got to something of a clearing where the crowd parted he saw a four car pile up in the middle of the road, maybe five considering he couldn't see a thing. There was fire on and around a few of the cars and black smoke rose into the air. As his eyes darted around he could see the few people that had been in the actual accident because they were bloody, covered in dark smudges from the fire, or both.

"Adam!" Shepard's voice pierced through the chaos, and he quickly spun and looked around until his eyes landed on her, standing practically in the middle of the wreckage. Most of the crowd stayed away out of common sense (or fear) and were busy helping with the other injured. "Over here!" she hollered, waving her arm at him although he was already jogging towards her. Once he reached her he tried to grab her arm but she pulled away. "What are you doing? These cars could explode any second!" Ignoring him Shepard pointed inside one of the cars where an unconscious, middle aged man was still in the driver's seat and covered in blood. "He's alive but he needs help. I can pry the door open but I need you to grab him, okay?" Glancing between her and the man Adam quickly nodded. Shepard knelt down and took hold of the distorted metal, Adam glancing around nervously. Shepard hinted that she was a lot stronger than humans, but he didn't want people seeing her ripping a door off it's hinges. With loud creaks and groans her iron grip pried the metal of the doors apart, shattering whatever glass was left. Adam quickly leaned down, half of his body in the car as he reached over the man to undo the seat-belt. Grabbing around his shoulders as best he could he took a deep breath and pulled as much as he could in a single heave. Adrenaline pumping through him he pulled again and again until he was dragging the man over the asphalt, Shepard climbing down off the wreckage after him.

As a few police officers and paramedics arrived he felt some people pull the man away from him, looking up and nodding as they did, still hazy over the craziness of the event. However, standing there now he looked up to Shepard, both of them now with dark smudges on their skin, Adam's accompanied with blood. "Are there anymore?" Shepard shook her head before slightly smiling. "Just him. And we saved him." Adam turned his head to where the man they saved was getting checked out by paramedics, police going around the crowd to get everybody to back up as more sirens blared upon arrival. "Yeah...yeah we did." Adam turned to look at Shepard, but as he did just over her shoulder he saw something spark within the wreck. "Shepard!" His arm shot up to point, though she turned her head just in time so see flames ignite. With inhuman speed she turned back to Adam, who's arm was still outstretched, wrapped her arms around his midsection, and tackled him to the ground, laying over him. Flames burst over them and nearly reached the crowd, causing everyone to jump and scream in shock, reflexively guarding their faces before quickly scurrying away. The police and paramedics rushed over to make sure everyone stayed back as the fire roared for another three seconds, though it felt a lot longer than that. One man who was being pushed back by the police pointed past them to ground behind them, yelling over the crowd. "Hey! Hey there're kids out there, man! The kids, they saved that guy - they're still out there!" One officer turned to look before another did, their gaze settling on Adam and Shepard as the fire cleared.

Once she felt the heat vanish Shepard rolled off Adam to the ground next to him, sitting up slightly and brushing the hair that had blown over her head from her face. Adam groaned lightly and propped up on his elbows, rubbing the back of his head that had smacked the concrete. They turned their heads to look at each other, both sets of eyes wide and still full of shock. As a few officers and an EMT ran over to them Shepard quickly scrambled to her feet, helping Adam up in the process. As she did he got a glimpse of the back of her shirt before the EMT put a blanket over her shoulders; it was completely scorched. A blanket was put over his shoulders as well as the officer quickly got them away from the wreck and the EMT ran off to get a stretcher for them. "Wait here for a second, someone's gonna come look at you, alright?" Adam and Shepard nodded at the man as he looked between them. "You two sure are lucky." He said before quickly turning away to get back on crowd control. Looking to Adam, Shepard quickly jerked her head for him to follow before the EMT got back and the two ducked down, vanishing into the crowd.

Adam and Shepard sat at the end of a bed. Different town, different motel, cleaned, and less burnt clothes. The events of hours before still fresh in their mind. Turning his head slowly Adam looked at Shepard, who in turn looked over to him. She smiled at him, reaching up and patting his shoulder despite the fact he looked so solemn. "Hey, you saved a life today." She said quietly, reassuring him with a small tilt of her head. Adam nodded slowly though he dropped his gaze to his lap. Something was still bugging him. "Hey, Shepard..." "Hmm?" He glanced up to her. She was giving him her full attention. He started to notice she did that every time he spoke. Clearing his throat a bit he rubbed the back of his neck, looking down again. "When that explosion happened, I didn't - well I didn't see it happen...it was so fast but, well- You saved me, didn't you?" Adam looked up to Shepard once more, who simply smiled lightly back at him, nodding a little bit. "Reflex." She responded with a small shrug, as if it were nothing. Sitting up a bit he gestured to her. "But your shirt, it was completely burned. I mean, how..." He couldn't exactly find the right words to ask what he wanted. Shepard smiled, closing her eyes a second and standing up before him to head over to her own bed. "Adam," She pulled back the covers and sat down as he looked over to her. "I'm fireproof." She said with a tiny nod and a wink before rolling over and pulling her covers up. Adam's gaze lingered there for a moment but finally he climbed into his own bed, reaching over and turning off the lamp set on the nightstand between them. Getting comfortable in his own bed his eyes stared across the room and out into space.

If ever put in the situation, would he be able to willingly react to save Shepard as quickly as she did for him today? The fact that she even covered him and got scorched, despite being fireproof, was something that kept him awake and pondering for an hour before sleep finally claimed him.


	4. Girlfight

**Hey guys, I am sooo sorry it took so long to update and get this chapter up! My muse kinda took a vacation out of nowhere, there was college, and a plethora of other things... But who am I kidding, you don't want excuses, you want the story! Still, I'm really sorry, but here it is! **

Adam smacked the front of the vending machine with a bit of an angry growl, waiting for it to dispense the chips he was trying to buy only to watch as it jammed, backed up, jammed again, and ate all his money. What the hell was this thing, the economy? Take, take, take and no giving back. Typical. Then again that just seemed to be his life lately. It wasn't entirely uncommon for him to have these pessimistic moments, in fact they happened frequently, but after spending one hundred and twenty years in Hell wasn't he allowed a little pity? Not that he was looking for it, but he felt he deserved to angst every now and again. Luckily, Shepard seemed to be there all the time to cheer him up somehow. Okay so maybe not make him happy, but at least stop him from laying on the bed like some thirteen year old emo with a death wish and a serious unrealistic hate for his parents.

After staring at the machine a few seconds and grumbling curse words under his breath he gave it another slap, giving up on it, and turned about. He came face to face with someone and only after he gave a startled gasp and jumped back in surprise, making a complete fool of himself in the process, did he realize it was Shepard. She rubbed at her eyes a moment, a single brow raising up to question his actions. "Sorry, didn't mean to spook you." She said, blinking a few times before tucking her hands in the crooks of her elbows. "Uh, no problem, I just thought you were asleep." He remembered going out the door and looking back, Shepard still curled up in a little ball at the foot of his bed, her hair a fluffy mess hanging over the covers. "I was, but I woke up and you weren't there, so I came out here." Came her response as she eyed the machine a moment, moving past Adam who stepped a bit out of her way. "Yeah sorry, I didn't want to wake you up. You've seemed tired lately."

Shepard didn't even seem to hear his last few words, but truth be told she was feeling a little fatigued. She reached up with one arm, gripping the top edge of the vending machine and pressing her other hand to the front of the glass. Glancing about for all of two seconds she turned her attention on the helpless machine and tipped it foward, almost effortlessly, and gave it a small shake. More than Adam paid for came tumbling down to be dispensed before she rocked it back to it's rightful place. As Adam collected what would now be their breakfast Shepard crossed her arms, looking out to the little town and the humble motel they stayed in the night before. "I have actually been feeling a bit more tired lately." Adam looked up to her as he tossed her a bag of Fritos, catching her eye but turning away to go back into their current room. Shepard didn't follow immidiately, instead lingering behind with the chips in her hands. Was that concern she just caught a glimpse of?

After a moment of lingering she followed after, closing the door behind her as she entered the room. She stood near the door, opening up her chips and starting to eat them as she watched Adam pick up a map and sit on the bed, unfolding it and laying it out over the foot of the bed. Shepard really wasn't one for maps, she couldn't read them, but she did have a fantastic sense of direction. Making her way over she crossed one leg to sit on, the other hanging over the bed as she looked at the large piece of paper, pretending to know what she was doing. They sat in silence, Adam reading over the map, trying to figure out stops along the way to wherever they were going (North seemed to be the direction at the moment), and Shepard occasionally looking up as Adam struggled to open a bottle of soda. "Good God who closed this thing, the Hulk?" He finally muttered to himself, looking at the bottle of soda who's lid had left callouses on his fingers. Reaching over and taking the bottle Shepard pointed at a mark on the map. "Is that where we're headed next?" As she twisted the cap off and handed the soda back over to Adam, his pride being stung just a tiny bit, he nodded before taking a drink.

"Yeah, can't exactly plan where to go when you don't really have much of a plan. Figure just going town to town on routes that have a few good stops is good enough." Shepard nodded, even though she really didn't do much of the planning. She basically stuck around Adam just doing things that needed to be done, occasionally using her superhuman physical traits to aid him, and always keeping an eye out for danger. She'd seen her fair share of dirty people, able to tell intentions with a glance, and if someone even looked at Adam the wrong way she would be breaking some arms. For a few moments she just sat there, watching him highlight and circle random things on the map with a red marker before standing up and tossing her empty chip bag in the trash. Her stomach wasn't pleased with the amount of food it was getting, or lack thereof, but she knew that finding places to stay and getting food was hard to do with how they were living. Especially since it really came down to Adam having to handle most things since he was, well, human and more familiar with it all.

Rubbing a finger over his brow and sitting up slightly, stretching his back that had become slightly sore with slouching, Adam looked away from the map a few moments to Shepard. She had been standing at the window just staring out of it for a few minutes, though he couldn't really be sure since he had been focusing on the map most the time. Popping the lid back on the marker with his teeth he finally folded up the map and scooted it all to one side of the bed, finished with it for now, and turned in his sitting spot. "What's up?" He asked, grabbing her attention as she looked from the window to him. A smile crossed her lips quickly and she shrugged, closing the curtain and coming back to sit at the bed and give a small shrug. "Sorry, it's a habit." She explained. Adam made a breif movement to the foot of the bed, leaning back on his hands. "Like sleeping on my feet?" Shepard looked to the foot of the bed then back to Adam, her gaze lowering to her lap as a small smile covered half her mouth, her bottom lip sticking out just a bit to make her face somewhat cartoonish and comical. "Yeah, sorry about that too." Adam just shrugged. "I don't really mind." Besides, it was cheaper just to by a one bed room anyways.

A bit of an awkward silence settled as they sat there at the side of the bed, just kind of staring at the floor, moving their fingers, trying to make it seem less like perhaps they were waiting for the other to say something. It was Adam who finally stood, Shepard's eyes quickly following him as he picked up the map and a few other things, stuffing them into a backpack and dropping the pack by the door. He moved around more, just organizing things, likely preparing for the trip they would soon be taking. Shepard watched him a few moments before laying back on the bed, her legs dangling over the edge and kicking back and forth lightly. Adam never noticed that she didn't do much of the organizing or preparing, but he probably wouldn't even ask. Half of the time she seemed like she knew exactly what she was doing, but the rest of the time it was like she was just lost and needed Adam to tell her exactly what to do. Otherwise she'd be doing that; laying on the bed, likely waiting for him to tell her to do something. But it continued on like this for most the morning until at last they both decided to try and find some lunch.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Teal eye scanned the horizon, the people, traffic, town, and everything else outside the window. Her belly was full of burgers and junk food, which normally meant by now she was sitting with a smile in her eyes listening to Adam talk, drinking enough soda to make a normal teenager pop, but she wasn't. Shepard's gaze had been fixed outside the window for several long moments now, in silence, her eyes just flickering back and forth every now and again, watching people go by. Once or twice the lids of her eyes drooped a bit, almost closing before she quickly blinked and resumed her staring. Adam, who was just finishing off his burger slowly tilted his head to the side. While Shepard stared out the window, his own blue eyes stared at her. She'd been doing this more the past few days, and today it was like she wasn't even all there. He watched her eyes flicker, the tiny facial movements as her gaze lingered on certain people, how her fingers tensed every now and again as if she were going to push herself up from the table to run after something or someone.

It had been about ten minutes of nothing but this, and finally Adam sighed, setting down his drink and looking away from her for the first time in those moments. Normally when he even made a noise, a movement, she would at least look over at him, but this time she didn't. Leaning his elbows on the counter he stared over at her. "Hey, what's going on, huh?" She blinked, looking over at him as if he had just woken her up and stared for a breif second. "Huh?" That was another thing. She barely ever misheard him. Brow furrowing just slightly he adjusted his elbows, repeating his question, "I said what's going on? You're acting like...like a zombie or something. I mean, you're tired, unattentive, and all you've been doing is staring out the window." As finished speaking his eyes squinted just ever so slightly, mouth forming a bit of a frown. There it was again, she noted to herself, but that didn't stop the slightly ashamed look from coming over her face. Adam remained staring at her a few more seconds before she finally let out a huff, leaning forward and resting one side of her face on the palm of her hand. "I just occasionally will get tired like this, but it's an easy fix." Recalling what she mentioned when they first met, about people thinking of her and making her stronger, he thought there might have been a connection. "Is this about, you know, people thinking about you? I mean I think we at least made an impression at that big car wreck." Shepard shook her head, smiling a little. "No, people have been thinking about me, especially since then. Funny, though, I didn't expect the burn to heal up as fast as it did."

He almost nodded, almost moved on to ask more of why she was tired, but he paused, giving her a strange look which caught her attention. "Wait, I thought you said you were fireproof." She adverted her gaze, raising one brow slightly as her lips pursed a little. "Well, yeah...but I [i]did[/i] mention I wasn't at full strenght, right? I just thought that I would have had like a bad burn that would take a few days to go away, instead it was more like a sunburn that went away overnight." She barely glanced at Adam, and his facial expression had changed a little and he leaned back in his chair. At first he looked like he had been lied to, now he looked a little guilty. She was about to ask, but he shook his head and started speaking before she could. "So, you mean to tell me that even though you thought you would get hurt you covered me up from the fire anyways? I mean...you could have just pushed me out of the way or something." Shepard heard and underlying tone of anger, and he refused to look at her, instead his gaze was out the window like hers had been. She didn't understand what the problem was, so long as she kept him from harms way, right? Confusion covered her face as she looked at him. "I'm sorry...for whatever I did but..." Pausing and looking about a moment, as if she didn't have the right words, Adam let his eyes go back to her just as she looked back at him. "I told you, it was a reflex." They had a breif staredown before he looked down, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I know, I know it's just," he looked back up, giving a full armed shrug, shaking his head again. "I hate feeling helpless, and more so I don't want you to go around getting hurt because of me. Superstrength and whatever aside, if something is gonna hurt you, you shouldn't just let it." She looked like she was about to protest but he held his hand up, stopping her. "I know, I know; reflex." He sighed out, leaning his head on the side. More silence.

"I have some issues with staying above ground for too long." Shepard said suddenly, making him look up, a questioning expression on his face. "I feel it's only fair you know a bit of my strengths and weaknesses. So, that's why I'm tired, we've just been moving around above the ground for a while, and I've used some of my power without having many people see me and thus think of me, so it drains me a bit quicker." Shepard explained, waving her hands a little for emphasis on a few words. Adam looked a bit confused. "So, you're saying I need to...bury you, or something?" Just when he thought she couldn't get any stranger, she was hinting at being underground and above ground. "No, but sitting in a cellar, a basement or a cave for a while could help." Shepard nodded, though he was still a bit confused. Clearly it showed, since he sat there staring at her a for a few minutes before clearing his throat and running a hand through his hair.

"Okay, I'm sure I could figure something out on our trip. Maybe if we're lucky we'll run across an abandoned building with some kind of basement or something." Shepard smiled, nodding at his response before they both stood, clearing up their trash and heading back to their truck. There was a pretty long trip ahead, and Adam wanted to make sure they made it to the next gas station before the truck completely died on them.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Aww, come on!"

The angered yell of her companion caused her to jolt from her sleep, though she'd be thankful as the echoing screams of nightmares quickly faded. Shaking her head, getting her wits about her, she waved her arms slightly as if she had no balance despite the fact she was sitting down. Shepard's wide eyes turned to the driver's side of the truck. Oh, right, they were driving. She must have fallen asleep again. Wait, it was dark. What time was it anyways? Rubbing her eyes she squinted at the digital clock on the radio. "The truck just died. We ran out of gas before we could reach the next station but..." With a quick, angered jolt he hit one fist against the steering wheel, making the horn give a short blare. "I swear I had the distance and the time right!" Shepard reached over to touch his shoulder, but he turned his head, still too frustrated about their situation to listen to anything at the second. "Adam, it's nearly two in the morning. If I knew how to drive I would. Look," she paused, glancing around the truck and to the back seat area. "Why don't you just sleep for a few hours and we'll figure out what to do when you're a bit more refreshed, okay?"

Adam turned his head sharply to Shepard, making her draw her hand back. "Figure it out then or figure it out now, it doesn't make a difference, Shepard! We're in the middle of nowhere with no gas, and considering I probably took a wrong turn somewhere this map is useless!" Another angered sigh escaped him as he leaned heavily on the wheel, Shepard staring at him from her side of the truck. Deciding it best to just let him simmer down she let out a sigh herself and leaned heavily on her door, staring out her window into the blackness.

Several long moments passed, nothing but the sound of breathing really inside the cabin of the truck. Shepard gave a tiny huff, pulling at strands of her hair before pausing a moment. Her brow furrowed a bit and she huffed again, and then again through the nose. Her breathing patters made Adam slowly look up enough to peak from over his arm at the brunette who was now sitting up, a somewhat curious yet concerned expression on her face as she took in deep breaths through the nose. "What're you doing?" He finally asked. Shepard glanced at him before opening up her door, "I smell gas." She got out and dropped down out of view, likely on her hands and knees looking under the truck. "What?" Adam sounded skeptical, though he was hoping that they hadn't been leaking this entire time. He barely even opened his door when she popped back up into view, reaching into the glove box and tossing him a flashlight. Fumbling with the light a few seconds before getting down in a similar fashion, he smacked the flashlight a few times with his hand before it lit up to life and show under the truck, revealing Shepard crouched down on the other side.

Lo and behold, there was indeed a leak, but he couldn't figure out why. The truck itself might have been old and the previous ownder a drunk, but he took good care of the engine from what Adam could tell. It wouldn't just start leaking like this. After searching under the truck a minute or two he motioned for Shepard to stand, tucking the flashlight under his arm as he made his way to the hood and popped it open. "It shouldn't have just been leaking like this..." Shepard joined him and propped the hood open, leaning over and sniffing over the engine. "On the bright side you were on the right track, it's just the truck is leaking." She tried to offer an optimistic smile, and although he did feel a bit better knowing he didn't lead them astray, that didn't explain what happened to the truck.

Before he conduct much more investigating headlights came into view. Adam peaked his head around the front of the truck as they drew closer. "I think we're in luck." He said, glancing to Shepard before waving one arm, flagging the car down. Shepard leaned out from under the hood of their truck as a young woman stepped out wearing a sundress with her thick, red hair pinned up. She looked concerned, her gaze going from Adam to the truck. "What're you doing all the way out here, doll?" She asked sweetly as Adam stepped forward. "We were headed to the next town but our truck broke down-" Adam started explaining, but stopped when he felt Shepard grab his arm. He looked down at her, but her gaze was fixed on the red-head. "Adam, get back." She said in a low tone. "Shepard, what're youd doing? She-" Shepard stepped in front of him, earning her a confused look before he looked up to the red head, who looked almost as confused as he did. "I'm sorry, can I-" The red head began, but Shepard cut her off, "Drop it, I know what you are." Adam looked from Shepard to the other girl, who looked to him and back to Shepard, opening her mouth to protest but, once more, Shepard spoke first. "Demon."

The word made Adam's blood quickly turn to ice as he looked up, the innocent look of the other slowly fading and being replaced by a smirk. She turned her head to the side, looking out into the distance a moment before turning back, her eyes black as the night. "What gave me away?" Adam started to take a few steps back. "First of all you reek of gasoline, so I assume you sabotaged our truck. And second," The two girls moved in a blur, there was some kind of clash, Adam barely blinked, but Shepard now had the other girl's back pinned to the hood of her car. "I can [i]smell[/i] your foul black soul." Shepard growled, holding the redhead back who gritted her teeth, pushing against her. Shepard struggled to hold her down, baring her teeth in effort, her teal irises being taken over by purple. "Adam, get in the truck!" Shepard yelled out, making Adam jump from the place he was standing in, frozen in fear for a moment, but quickly scrambling to the open passenger door.

The demon looked past Shepard's shoulder to Adam before raising her feet and kicking into Shepard's stomach, launching her into the air to come crashing down on the hood of the truck. "Shepard!" Adam called out, though leaned back in his seat as the demon jumped ontop of his companion. She reached for the windshield, but Shepard's hand caught hers and pulled her back, flipping over to pin the demon on the hood of the truck. This time Shepard dug her knees into the thighs of the demon and held both her hands above her head with one of her own, her other grabbing the demon's face to prevent her head from turning. The she-demon writhed under Shepard's hold, screamed and cursed, but Shepard held fast. "Why did you follow us? What are you after?" Shepard boomed, her voice sounding as though it were echoing off imaginary walls. Adam's back was pressed so hard in the back of the seat it was actually hurting, his chest heaving in panicked pants as he watched the scene unfold before him, barely getting a glimpse of Shepard's now purple irises in the glare of the headlights.

"Why did you come after us? Speak, demon!" Shepard ordered again, her grip digging into the cheeks of the redhead who's black gaze met her purple one. "Your little boy fits the bill," She hissed. A breif look of confusion crossed Shepard's face before the demon spoke again, "What are you?" The confusion left and was quickly replaced by malice as Shepard bared her teeth, leaning in close to the demon and practically snarling out her words. "Something your kind should fear." The demon smirked, but before she could do anything else her eyes became wide, pained, and Shepard opened her own mouth wide. The black cloud spewed from the mouth of the vessel, screams escaping as it did. It streamed into Shepard's mouth; she grabbed at it, bit it, tore at it like a predator attacking it's prey. Then everything went silent.

Slowly, panting, Shepard climbed off the hood of the truck, the girl breathing and groaning a little, unconciously rolling her head to the side. Reaching over to her Shepard pulled the girl off the hood, now freed from possession and lifted her into her arms. Her eyes returned to teal and her gaze went to Adam then, who sat behind the cracked windshield, eyes wide like a doe and filled with fear. Her gaze lingered a moment before she lowered her head, turning around and going to the car the girl had come in.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Her eyes were full of rage, her face distorted into vicious growls and snarls, teeth bared like some wild animal. The image of Shepard attacking whatever it was that came out of the girl replayed in Adam's mind over and over as he sat at the edge of another motel bed, losing count, staring holes into the wall opposite of him. He heard Shepard come out of the bathroom, and only then did he slowly turn his gaze to her, something of a solemn look on his face. She returned the same look, though her shoulders were a bit more slouched and her face looked almost apologetic. Adam's eyes stayed there a moment before going back to their staring contest with the wall. "I scare you." Shepard finally spoke, making Adam temporarily drop his gaze, though he didn't turn to look at her. "No...not really." He didn't really feel afraid of her, but he couldn't get that image out of his head, and just saying that felt like a lie. For a moment she lingered in place, playing with a strand of loose hair between two fingers before coming over to sit at his side.

"You know, not feeling afraid and not knowing what you're feeling are different things." Then he looked up to her, locking on to her eyes, almost expecting them to turn purple like they did. "For the record, or future um...warning, I can uh..." She paused, looking down in her lap where her fingers played at the hem of her shorts, same ashamed look on her face. "I can get a lot worse than what you saw." Her voice sounded apologetic, but he wanted to tell her there was nothing to apologize for. After all, even though he didn't know what she was, she was only protecting him. If that brings on a few nightmares of her biting someone's head off then so be it. "So what did you..." Adam turned his head a bit, his hands making motions, trying to conjur up the proper question to ask. Shepard stared at him patiently. "What did you do, exactly? I mean with that black...stuff." Biting her lip slightly she turned her head to take her turn with staring at the wall. "I ate it." Now his full attention was on her, confused. "What?" "I ate it. I can eat souls, rip 'em apart...it feeds me better than human food, gives me some strength back." She looked back towards Adam who's face was distorted, and he may not have realized it but he was leaning away from her a little.

With a sigh she turned about, laying back on the bad, draping the crook of her elbow over her eyes. "See? Told you I can get worse." "No it-it's fine, just, you know...kinda freaky. Then again, I have been in and out of Hell so..." He trailed off, going to look at Shepard a moment, leaving the tone in his voice lingering. He saw her belly shake a little, and a smile spread over his lips as she moved her arm and started laughing. Seemingly contagious, he laughed too. What was so funny exactly, probably neither of them knew, but it just felt good to laugh for no reason; let it all out for a good two to three minutes. Once the laughter died down a bit Adam turned his head to look at Shepard, still laying back on the bed. "Hey, Shepard?" "Yeah?" "What do you think she meant?" Adam turned to face forward a bit, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Your little boy fits the bill?" Shepard took a deep breath, staring up at the ceiling and moving an arm behind her head, shrugging slightly even though she knew Adam wasn't facing her.

"I don't know."


	5. Updates and Apologies

Hey fans and followers of CoP.

First of all I'd just like to apologize for not updating the story in a while, even though I promised the updates would come faster. I'm not going to list excuses, all you need to know is that I got super busy and my muse has been thrown off track. I have about 3,000 words written up for chapter five, I'm just at a wall ATM and I'm having great difficulty getting out a single coherent paragraph.

Any inspiration, muse boosters, etc you can offer as my fans and lovers of Adam would be greatly appreciated!

Much loves from le Hez!


	6. These Boots Were Made For Walkin'

**Final-fucking-ly! The fifth chapter! Sorry for that long gap between updates, I lost muse - anyone wanna give me inspiration for future chapters? I'd love you for it! Also, I plan on doing some sketches, wallpapers, etc. for my story, so if you want to see them then follow me on twitter AlmightyGonzo! Or tumblr at Hgonzo/Speedy Gonzales (though I'm likely to post on twitter more) Oh, and tell your friends about this story too. Tell all Adam lovers. Submit fanart if you really have the need. **

**Okay, I'm done shamelessly trying to whore out my story now...or am I?**

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Shepard could feel the uncomfortable pressure on her knees, even when she was asleep. When she was asleep it lessened, if just a little, but it was ever present and it kept waking her up. She shifted in her sit, eyes closed but brow twitching in irritation every now and again because of the lack of space in this new car. She wanted the truck back already; at least she could move her legs sitting in that one. But Adam was kind of the brains of this operation, and he said taking a new car was probably a good idea. Not like they could really get the truck fixed anyways. Nonetheless, the lack of leg room, and front seat room for her to stretch in general, still got on her nerves. Centuries old or no, there were still some things she would never have patience for.

She felt a small shake at her left shoulder and heard Adam say her name, and only when she sat up, sharply inhaling and looking about the cabin of the car, did she really register that she had been asleep to start with. Rubbing her eyes from her short nap she noticed they were stopped, and looked over to Adam, who was staring intently ahead. "What is it?" She asked through a yawn, looking forward to spot a young woman laying on the side of the road. "Whoa, dang, go help her!" Shepard said, waving her arm towards the front of the vehicle in the direction of the woman. Adam looked to his brunette companion a moment before shrugging, grabbing a little halo off of the rear view mirror and putting it in place above his head. "Be right back." As he got out of the car, with a very nonchalant wave from Shepard, he flicked the halo a few times to make sure it was glowing. Satisfied with the light it was giving off he approached the woman.

"S'cuse me, you alright?" He asked as he came to a halt near her. With no response he looked back to Shepard, shrugging, and getting a shrug in response. As Adam bent over to touch her she suddenly sprang to life, red hair flying about as she stood. It was the demon Shepard had killed. But how? They became suddenly still, and Shepard's eyes dropped down to see a knife sticking into Adam's belly. The halo dropped from his head and clattered to the floor, the demon vanishing in black smoke as it resounded a bell-like noise. Teal eyes grew wide as Adam turned to face the car, struggling to stay standing as blood came out of his mouth like a slow waterfall. A short stumble forward and he toppled to the ground, trying to call something out. "Adam!" Shepard tried to get out, but the seat-belt yanked her painfully back into the seat, giving her a feeling of whiplash. "Hang on, Adam!" She yelled, angrily yanking and tearing at the belt, but everything she did only made it pull back tighter and tighter over her chest. As her breathing became harder she looked to where Adam was laying on the side of the road, reaching out a hand, trying to somehow get to him quicker. She was suffocating, helpless.

She felt a small shake at her left shoulder and heard Adam say her name, and only when she sat up, sharply inhaling and looking about the cabin of the car, did she really register that she had been asleep to start with. Quickly turning to look at Adam he was just barely taking his gaze from her, looking back to the road. Which, she thankfully noted, they were still driving on rather quickly. Taking a deep breath she looked down, frowned, and unbuckled her seat-belt. "You have a nightmare or something?" Shepard felt like she'd been caught doing something bad. Her brows raised slightly and she looked over to Adam. "What?" The tone in her voice wasn't like someone who misheard a question, but more like she was asking if Adam had seriously just asked her that. He turned his head towards her a moment, pausing to try and read her face. "A nightmare. You looked kinda freaked out, you were twitching a lot..." Shepard nodded at his explanations, chuckling under her breath and waving them off, leaning back in her seat. "Don't worry."

Adam spared one more glance at Shepard before looking to the road, a silence falling between them. For moments all he could hear was the hum of the car's engine. So quiet compared to the roar of the truck that he had been getting used to. The tires going on the road, the occasional clink of a rock hitting the body of metal, and wind whistling through the slightly cracked back window. For the long moments of silence that passed he would have assumed Shepard asleep again. However, looking over he was slightly surprised to see her eyes were open. Not only that, but staring forward, so focused he even looked out the window to see what it was that she was staring at. He saw nothing but road. Even so he kept his gaze forward a few more seconds, scanning the horizon just in case his little human eyes missed something that she could see. Once more looking to the girl in the passenger seat this time was met with eye contact. Adam looked forward quickly, but she kept staring at him out of the corner of her eye. The silence went from normal, comfortable even, to just a bit tense.

"What?" He heard her say, making him turn his head and raise his brows in a questioning manner. Catching the look Shepard sat up, stretching out her back and arms a little as she did. "Um, what's that phrase people use?...A penny for your thoughts?" Adam looked back towards the road, a smirk tugging at the edge of his lips. "Make it a dollar and we have a deal."

"Okay. Dollar." Shepard agreed, though Adam questioned mentally if she really got the expression at all. Another second of silence, mulling over his thoughts, choosing his words and he spoke again. "I don't know how long I can do this - keep this up, I mean..." Another pause, but this one came shortly. "This whole 'searching for good deeds' thing. I just - I don't want to sound like I want the easy way out or anything but isn't there just a...like a way that maybe I can get through this whole soul rinsing thing quicker? Unless everybody needs some kid and an immortal's help in the next town I really don't see this ship setting sail anytime soon." Adam gave a heavy sigh, shaking his head and keeping an intensified gaze forward on the road.

Her eyes rested on him a few seconds, even though it didn't even look like he was expecting an answer. She knew that look, not because she had seen Adam do it, but because she'd come across it in her eternal life. Immortals did it, humans did it, monsters sometimes did it, and Shepard had seen it in the reflection a couple times over too. It was a look of unloading a weight from your chest, dropping the world from your shoulders if only to have relief for a few short seconds. Right now Shepard was the only one who was there to listen to Adam, and he never vented, not really. To see the strain in his eyes at the mention of how badly he just wanted everything over with both made her feel proud that he would tell her something baring down so heavily on his mind, and a tiny bit hurt as well. Why exactly, she didn't know, but it did.

"You just want to see your mom, stop feeling like a pawn in cosmic chess - I understand." Adam gave her a look, which made her raise her own brow a little skeptically at her own words and look towards the dash. "Okay, maybe not exactly, but a little bit..." Shepard had an idea of how much better he could accomplish good, but she wasn't sure he'd really be accepting of it. Maybe if she cheered him up a little, or at least got his mind off of everything for a few moments.

As if having an epiphany she suddenly perked up in her chair, looking out the window like a child searching for an amusement park. "Here, pull over."

"Wait, what?" She could hear the 'are you serious' waiting to creep out of his voice. "Just pull over. Don't make me stick my foot through the floor of this thing." The threat was empty, he knew that, but at least he reluctantly slowed the car and pulled to the side of the road before stopping it there. He looked to Shepard who barely spared him a second before opening her door and swinging her legs out of it. The large boots she had stolen from the original owner of the truck clunked loudly as they hit the pavement when Shepard kicked them off. It was a bit strange how oddly in place those big, unlaced boots looked on her feet. Chucking the boots into the backseat of the car she stood up, turning to face Adam for a second to say, "C'mon." before closing her own door. Adam just didn't get what she was going to do, barefoot, in the middle of nowhere that couldn't wait until they got into town. He shook his head, clearly not keen on the idea of wasting time, but got out of the car anyways. Trudging his way around the car he came to a stop behind Shepard, crossing his arms and leaning on the closed passenger side door. "Okay, now what?" She looked back a moment, grinning, despite the matter-of-fact tone her voice took. "Now we run." With that she started off forwards, making Adam stand up off the car. "What?" He hollered after her, bewildered she just took off running for no reason. "Run!" She called over her shoulder from the distance.

Really? That's what she was making him stop to do? Run? Shaking his head and dropping his arms to his sides like limp weight he paced to the front end of the car. If she wanted to run around fine, but he was going to wait in the car. Getting near the hood, though, he looked out to her vanishing figure and then down to the pavement. What was she getting at anyways? Walking a dozen feet or so away from the car he cupped his hands around his mouth. "Okay Shepard, come back now, seriously." She wasn't going to comply, she just turned about and beckoned him with wild waves of her arms. Shepard was stubborn, and although she listened to him like a little kid listened to a story whenever he spoke, sometimes he just had to play along to get her to cooperate. With a heavy, reluctant sigh he started jogging, rather unenthusiastically, towards where she was.

As he jogged he listened to the heavy thump of his shoes hitting the ground over and over again, and stared forward to Shepard, who looked like she was chasing invisible people around in circles. The more he jogged, the faster he got. His eyes looked down to his feet, soon flying over the ground which was becoming a blur beneath him. Heart beginning to pound almost as loud as the winds whistling in his ears he forgot that he had started coming out here to try and muscle Shepard back into cooperation. In fact he was running aimlessly around like she was now, completely forgetting what he was thinking about. Shepard ran up alongside him, making a whistling noise in his ear and running quicker to get just ahead of him. Not to be outdone, he quickened his pace, trying to out do his competition. As he chased after her, trying to do everything to slow her down from making wild grabs at the back of her shirt to throwing out taunting challenges, Shepard was busy leaving him in the dust. She was clearly very dexterous, and if she put her mind to it she could run laps around Adam in seconds instead of keeping barely out of reach.

Only when his chest started to burn and his throat was too dry for even spit to pass down did he finally come to a stop, leaning over with his hands on his knees and panting heavily through small bits of laughter. Actual laughter. With a loud, very much satisfied, groan he flopped onto his back onto the ground. Hot earth scraped uncomfortably from under his back, but he paid no mind. Right now he was focusing on getting his breath back. Shepard appeared above him, leaning over most his upper body and casting a shadow over his face. She grinned down at him before clumsily dropping to the ground next to him and stretching her legs out in front of her. She wasn't even winded at all. After a few moments of nothing but heavy panting from Adam's end Shepard finally looked over to him, his eyes closed tight against the sun, and nudged at his shoulder with her fist. "Feel better?" He was going to ignore the small hint of 'told you so' hiding in her voice, and instead just sit up and nod. Shepard nodded, too, though a grin was on her features.

Adam looked over to her, half smiling as he shifted his weight forward to slouch. "How'd you know that would make me feel better?" She shrugged, looking him over a second. "Living forever really gives you time to think about a lot of things, figure out what really pisses you off and what makes you happy, entertained, relieved...Running until I can't feel my legs usually makes me feel better, I figure I'd give it a go on you. It's that feeling of freedom, you know? Especially in a big, open place like this with no barriers or bars to block you off." Adam nodded slowly, watching as her gaze looked far into the distance, past the whole horizon and to something far beyond visual reach. She stayed like that, gaze in the distance, her face relaxed and content with whatever she was thinking about. "Thanks." He finally said, making her look to him before smiling and standing up, reaching down to help him to his feet. "No problem. Now, wanna race to the car?" Did she just have some never ending supply of energy stored somewhere in her pockets? Adam chuckled and shook his head. "Aah, no, I think I'm good on the running." Shepard nodded with a tiny under-the-breath laugh and walked at his side. The car looked really far away now that they actually had to go back to it.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Shepard leaned on the hood of the parked car, attempting to unwrap some kind of small pie while Adam was speaking to someone. The town they came across was small, kind of middle-of-nowhere, but that was good seeing as they should probably stay low for a while. Still fumbling with the wrapping over the strange treat she looked up to where Adam and a young brunette local were standing and talking. He was holding a map, a big map, trying to figure out where to go. Whatever he decided she would not complain. After all, she hadn't been on the surface of Earth in a very, very long time. Even though she didn't even get out much when she was around and prosperous, so much had changed. Though, looking down to the pie, she reminded herself that was something incredibly obvious. Of course everything had changed.

Hearing Adam say a thanks and goodbye to the woman, fantastic hearing being of use, she brought her attention up as he started walking towards the car. She tilted her head sideways, watching as another young woman came up to the brunette and they began talking and laughing before going on their way. Folding the map in half he handed it to Shepard, taking the pocket pie out of her hands. As he unwrapped the pie for her she looked over the map, eyeing little circles and lines he had made in red marker. Honestly, she had no idea what any of it meant. Shepard had an excelent natural sense of direction. Smelling the air could tell her where to go for whatever they wanted, or needed, for the moment or trips ahead. Adam's hand obscurred her view for a moment, but she paid no mind because said hand was holding her food and she eargerly snatched it from his fingers, almost letting the map drop to the puddle below.

"Graduated in honors, can't even read a map on my own..." Adam grumbled to himself a moment before readjusting the large sheet of paper, giving it a small flick to keep it stiff. "We should go here," he began, pointing to a place he had circled, glancing over to Shepard and seeing that, somehow, she had already eaten the whole pocket pie. "It's not much but it is a bigger city, guaranteed to have lots of trouble and, I don't know...good things to be done. Probably better than jumping to all these little towns." Shepard nodded slowly, but took the map from his hands and folded it up, tucking it under her arm and giving Adam a small pat on the shoulder. "Sometimes, though, it's the little places that need help the most." After just a second she shifted in her place, letting go of Adam and crossing her arms, her eyes wandering over the small town and the very few people walking through it. Adam gave her a side glance before trying to follow her gaze. It proved rather unhelpful so he looked back to her, lowering one brow in question.

"What do you mean?" he asked, crossing his arms in a similar fashion. She shrugged a little, shaking her head though not meeting his gaze. "I'm not sure. I think we should stay here a few days, I can just..." her hands came up, making some kind of grabbing motion in front of her as if she could pick the right words out of the air. Her gaze rested on Adam, then, her hands dropping to her lap. "I can just feel it." She finally said. Adam bit at the corner of his mouth, staring at her a moment slowly saying, "Uh huh." as if he actually understood. Of all the things that he had been trying to keep track of that she could do, a sixth sense was the newest ability. However, she hadn't lead him astray yet, despite him usually doing the leading, and he didn't want to question her senses. She was after all, and very clearly, some kind of higher being than him. Why she hadn't yet revealed who or what she was he didn't yet know. Then again, recalling a conversation they had days earlier, she said that she couldn't. Adam didn't want to push the subject.

After a few moments silence he sighed, dropping his arms to his side and standing up from the hood. As he made his way to the driver's side Shepard watched him curiously, before standing and going to the passenger side. "Are we staying?" She asked, triggered by having to get into the car. She wondered if they were getting in to leave or just to move the vehicle. Adam looked at her from over the hood as if she should have already had the answer. "Yeah, we're staying. Better find a place to sleep, though." Shepard smiled and nodded, glad that Adam would take her advice. As she went to open the door Adam spoke up again, stopping her a moment. "So, you have some kind of sixth sense now, huh?" Shepard looked to ponder it a moment before nodding. "Yes, took a while for it to kick in, but now that I'm getting more strength it's getting stronger." Adam nodded silently, but Shepard stayed in place, sensing he wasn't done asking his questions quite yet. "How about your other senses, then?" He asked vaguely. Shepard squinted one eye slightly, looking up in now particular direction in the way someone looked while they were thinking of an answer to a problem or something.

After a breif moment she looked back to him, giving her head a quick, directional tilt to one side. "That girl you were talking to a few minutes ago," Adam paused before looking to where she gestured, spotting the girl with her friend down the street, speaking to one another in front of a store. He looked back to Shepard who continued, "She thinks you have a cute butt." Finished with showing off her glorious hearing she finally got in the car. Adam, however, looked towards the two girls talking, who happened to be looking his way at that second and quickly averted their gazes. He turned his head to the side, looking down as if checking if something was on his back before clumsily climbing into the driver's side and starting up the car. Shepard was getting far too much amusement out of his embarassment right now.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

A somewhat flustered Shepard kicked her boot off of her foot, making the large hunk of footwear hit the wall nearest her with an echoing thud. She jumped back like it could come after her and bite at her or something just barely a second before Adam came out of the bathroom. He eyed the boot, the new scuff on the wall, and then looked to Shepard who had a guilty countenance. "You know, something tells me they aren't going to let us stay at this Inn for very long if you start tearing the walls down." He scolded with a hint of sarcasm before moving over to sit on the bed, removing his own shoes. "Sorry - I just couldn't get it off!" Which, he noted, was odd because the boots were huge and the laces were never done up. Shaking his head a moment as he placed his shoes neatly at the end of the bed he looked back to her. "Well at least you're wearing them. I must admit I am surprised; what with the fit you threw with having to wear them." Shepard shrugged, crossing her arms and looking down to the boots, nudging lightly at them with her foot. "Eh, what can I say? I've grown attached." Adam looked up to her, a slightly amused look hidden in his face. "I suppose you have." He simply responded, standing from the bed and taking off his jacket.

Shepard's eyes followed him as he walked to one side of the room, hanging the jacket on a coat hook. "Hey, I have a question." She said, moving over to sit at the edge of the bed. Adam turned, rubbing one hand on the back of his neck, sore from the long drives. "Yeah?" Her lips twictched to one side and she crossed her legs, drumming her fingers over her ankle. "Those girls earlier..." Just the beginning of this question made him start to feel awkward. Crossing his arms he looked towards her, none to excited about what she may ask. "Uh-huh?" Shepard gave a small shrug, as if she answered a question with an 'I don't know', but shook her head like she was lost. "I just don't understand what makes a butt cute. I mean...it's a butt!" Adam shook his head slowly, small chuckles coming from him though he did try to hide it. After a moment he looked up, seeing Shepard was still confused and didn't understand what he found so humorous. He returned the shrug, turning around and walking over to the TV. "Honestly, I have no idea. Women still confuse me." As he began flipping through the chanels Shepard nodded, almost as if reviewing facts. "Yeah, me too." Adam glanced over his shoulder towards her. Really then?

Shaking his head, deciding it was one thing among the long list that made Shepard so...Shepard, he looked around the entertainment center for a few moments before finally finding the remote. Making his way back to the bed he flopped down at the top of it, laying back on the pillows with one arm behind his head. Shepard stayed seated at the foot, looking to the television as he flipped through the chanels. Sometimes he just turned the TV or radio on to watch her face change or her reactions to it. Sometimes they were pretty amusing. He even did that for about ten minutes once, just flipping radio stations back and forth, almost ever time making her head tilt questioningly at the device. Eventually she may get used to it, but for the mean time it was entertaining. As a familiar song started coming from the TV speakers he looked away from Shepard to the entertaining box. The animated movie Spirit Stallion of the Cimmaron was on, making him smile a little, watching the mustang throw man after man off his back. "I used to watch this all the-" "Turn it." Shepard sharply interupted him, her tone unreadable. He looked towards her with confusion, but she stayed looking at the TV. "I hate horses." She said with a small shake of her head, before looking back to Adam. "Turn it...please?" Adam's brows furrowed at her and he didn't take his gaze away, but turned the chanel anyways. Well, that was the first time he'd heard that - not to mention she never demanded things of him in that kind of tone. Hell, she never demanded anything.

As he settled on Deadliest Warrior he shifted a little in his spot on the bed, getting comfortable. "So, why do we need to stay here?" "Hm?" "You said we should stay, that you felt it ... any idea why?" Shepard half turned to look at him, sweeping some messy hair out of her face. "Uuh...not really. Just feel like we need to stay." She faced forward again, watching the program, though Adam sighed a little and ran his hands over his face. Not exactly the answer he was looking for.

"Okay then." He looked to the TV, back to Shepard, then to the TV again. About three minutes passed before he finally sat up, making Shepard look to him. He turned his head towards her and gathered up a few of his things, shoes, jacket - at least enough to keep him warm during the night. "I'm gonna go grab us some food, okay?" Shepard looked like she wanted to protest, her brow furrowing at the idea of staying put, but she nodded a little; shoulder slouching slightly as he made his way towards the door. Once Adam was out the door he pulled on his jacket and started to walk down the small town road.

Eventually he came to a bar and grill and figured it was best, seeing as Shepard ate mostly meat anyways. He could probably get a few burgers here, some soda, and be good for the night. Pausing outside he flipped through his wallet, frowning a bit at the amount. It would barely be enough to get them through the next few days...Pushing the thought aside as a growl emited from his stomach he pulled open the door and briskly walked in. The smell of beer and barbecue invaded his nose, and a bit of nostalgia came along with it. Adam's blue eyes scanned the inside of the building, almost reaching up to his shoulder, expecting to feel a heavy hand there. John brought him to places like this on his birthday, right before or after the baseball games to eat hamburgers. "Hi, can I help you?" A soft voice to his right, just above the noise of the jukebox in the corner, pulled him out of his thoughts. "Huh?" "Can I help you?" A waitress gestured to the tables behind her and Adam barely glanced at them before shaking his head, realizing she was asking if he needed to have a table. "Uh, no - actually do you guys make things to go here?" She smiled and nodded, gesturing for him to follow her. Well, that was a relief. Then he could order and be out of here as soon as he got it.

They got to what looked like the bar area of the place and she stopped him near the counter, pointing up at a hanging menu. "Just order off there - I'll be back in a minute and you can tell me." Adam gave a half nod and she went on her way. Looking around a moment he decided to sit down at a stool, closing his fingers together in front of him and leaning his elbows heavily on the counter, looking up at a basketball game that was playing on the TV. Over all the talk and music he couldn't hear it, but watched if nothing else for just distraction. He stared blankly up at the TV for what felt like maybe ten minutes before a presense beside him made itself known. "I've never liked basketball." Adam barely turned his head to the guy next to him - he couldn't have been any older than himself, and his hair was thick, black and curly. His eyes trailed down to Adam, who looked away and nodded a little. "Sports aren't much my thing, either. Gives you something to look at though, right?" Adam responded. He saw the blackette nod out of the corner of his eye.

Not a few seconds later the waitress returned and Adam ordered of her four barbecue burgers, two large drinks, and some fries. He heard the stranger chuckle and turned his head to him, raising a questioning brow. Catching the look the other kid cleared his throat. "You, uh, ordering for a bunch of other people?" Adam turned a bit in his seat to look down at him a bit, not liking the tone he was receiving. "Yeah." He responded, though the tone was more of 'what's it to you?' Obviously getting the hint the kid raised his hands a little, scratching lightly at the back of his head. There was no more conversation between the two as Adam went back to watching the TV. By the time his food got to him in a fwe boxes he turned to see that the kid was completely gone. He spared a glance around the bar but saw him nowhere, and shrugged it off heading for the door. As Adam exited a few men from the back watched him, getting up and following after.

He was barely ten feet from the exit of the place when he heard a shout from behind him, making him turn to see a few men just exiting the building. He felt a drop in his gut, a large bald man who looked like he had some kind of tatto on his neck (given it was dark now he couldn't exactly see) approached him. "Where is it, huh?" He demanded of Adam, making him glance around a bit, a confused expression covering his countenance. "Uuhh, what're you-" "Don't play stupid with me boy. You have something I want, so just hand it over before things get messy." He reached into his coat and Adam took a step back. Would he just completely lose his man-card if he inwardly wished for Shepard at that moment? Probably, but it wasn't too insane. "Okay, look, I think you have me confused for someone else-" The bald man reached forward and grabbed Adam by the collar, making him drop his food as he was, more or less, thrown into the shadows of the side of the building. A sharp hiss escaped his lips at the feeling of the wood meeting his back like that.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Adam yelled when he was demanded to hand whatever 'it' was over again, and kicked out wildly at his attacker, barely landing a lucky hit to his knee. The man backed up a little and Adam wavered a bit against the wall, barely looking up as Baldy pulled a knife from somewhere and came after him. He barely saw the glint of the metal headed right for his chest when he heard his name being yelled, and felt himself being sandwiched between what felt like two brick walls. He was just getting thrown and shoved into everything tonight, wasn't he? His eyes squinted closed from the pain, but upon opening them discovered that the 'brick wall' pressing into the front of him was indeed Shepard. Where she came from he had no clue, but he was sure glad he did - even if her back was squishing the air from his lungs right now. However, he saw that the blade that was intended for him was sticking into the middle of her stomache all the way up to hilt. The bald man's fingers were still gripping it, and Adam's throat was too dry to get any words out.

Shepard's hands came up to grip at the wrist of the bald thug, keeping his hand in place on the knife. Raising her head slowly, a shadow cast barely over one side of her face giving her and especially sinister look, she planted, one foot on his knee, then the other on his hipm walking up him before leaning foward and completely pushing him over. Adam stepped aside a bit now that the pressure was off him, though looked to the three that had accompanied him, who seemed too shocked that Shepard was even moving to do anything. She raised her fist and with one solid punch knocked the bald man out. Standing up from the shadows she was a bit of a gruesome sight, the knife still sticking out of her stomach. Gripping at it she pulled it slowly before dropping it in the dirt next to her, turning to the men opposite her and letting out something of a snarl. One of them braved an attack forward, but he barely even got out his meak rebel yell before she dropped him to the ground. The other two turned to run, but she lunged after them and tackled them down, pummeling them with a few hits before they were completely unconscious.

As she walked back to Adam, frozen in place on the sidewalk, her bare foot came up to side kick the second man, knocking his groaning, whiny ass out for good. She stopped in front of Adam, looking up at him with slightly raised brows. "Are you alright?" His eyes stayed wide, staring at her before he looked down to the blood stain on her shirt. "Am I...am I alright? Are you alright? You-you were stabbed-" Shepard looked down to the stain, lifting her shirt enough to show him the skin underneat was completely unscathed, nothing left but where the blood had been. "No worries, barely even felt it." Adam swallowed, hard, feeling like he was about to puke before looking over her shoulder to the thugs on the ground. "I think your 'feeling' was wrong...we should probably be gone by the morning." Shepard nodded, though she looked upset and confused that she had been wrong. Adam was about to turn when she spoke up, "I'm sorry." Looking back he glanced about a bit before facing her again. "Hey, we all make mistakes, alright? No harm done...to me, anyways. I think they'll be hurting tomorrow." He tried to joke, though she didn't look appeased, she only nodded and began walking forward. With a heavy sigh he followed after, picking up what was left of their food. At least the burgers were still in the box.


	7. I'm Alive

Okay, I know, I'm horrible. Terrible!

I'm not going to list excuses, I have tons, but I'm not going to list them. I'm extremely sorry for not continuing the story, guys! So, SO sorry! .;

There was just a lack of reviews, and my muse was dying and - oh wait, those are excuses right there...-ahem-

But anyways, I can continue or do a little bit of a revamp. At this point I'm kinda leaning towards the revamp a bit more, realizing there are some inconsistencies in the story, but it all depends on you! I would like to continue the story, get my muse flowing, get Adam lovers excited and giddy (Shepard lovers too? Not yet? Too soon? Okay...) but I don't want to be writing a story if no one reads it - so when I say Review I mean it! They are important! Even if you just write "Great chapter." or "Write more, damn you!" I will!

I'd especially appreciate suggestions, or things you would like to see happen. I do have plans, but I'm worried the story is getting bland and repetitive.

On this note I would love to give an extra special splendiferous shout-out to **Pisces00**, who has loyally submitted a review on EACH AND EVERY chapter I've written of CoP thus far!

So, guys, if you have this in your alerts or favorites please, PLEASE, let me know if you would like me to continue and as always, as fans, I would love your input on ideas and suggestions!

OH! And I also created a DeviantArt account, so if you want to stalk that my username there is IamHEZMONSTER - I'm hoping to be submitting some CoP art there soon!

Right, pretty sure my rambling is done now...


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